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by hondatohru14



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23235775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hondatohru14/pseuds/hondatohru14
Summary: Short fic about an Octoling making friends. Based on an OC I RP with.
Kudos: 5





	1. Curiosity

It’s a scary feeling, being out in an unfamiliar world that used to try to kill you. But as Mason Epprid wanders the streets of Inkopolis, looking at the buildings, the _sky_ , the planes and cars- and the _people_ \- everyone mingles cheerfully and is excited and there’s no overhanging fear nor worry nor alarm nor the constant nagging of something that needed to be _done_.

It’s carefree, and it’s foreign.

And he likes it.

Wandering around the city doesn’t do him any profit, but he does it anyway- what else would he do? Everything he sees enamors him, and he wants to see as much of it as possible. Particularly since that comes with the perk of getting further away from his entry point into the city.

And then he comes across the Square.

And it’s huge.

And there’s so many people milling about, so many people _talking_ and just living out regular lives, and he wants to cry. He’s run so far, he’s been through so much- could this really be his new home? Was he really able to get away from the Sergeant?

A small crowd begs for his attention, and he turns to give it. They’re gathered around a large window, a small party of maybe ten, and they’re all waving at someone inside. Curiosity pushes him closer so he can see as well, but he stands off to the side, thankful the window is big enough to give him room.

It’s an Inkling and an Octoling, sitting at a table. An Inkling and an Octoling. It brings a grin to his face, to see the two species sitting together. But then he wonders why the crowd is so adamant to say hello to them. He glances to the crowd, and then back to the window.

And he realizes they’re looking at him. He blinks a time or two, unsure of what to do, and the Octoling flashes a smile and waves, then the Inkling poses- presumably for him- and he haltingly raises a hand and waves back, wearing a hint of a confused grin. The Octoling’s smile grows for a second so that her eyes are squints and her shoulders jump up in a small laugh, and then the two return their attention to each other.

Mason just stands there, unsure of what just happened. A fluttering catches his ear, and he looks to the side at an ad stuck to the wall by the window. His hand raises and stills the poster, and he’s surprised to find that he can read it. Most of the ad is in Inklish, but at the bottom is Octarian. He only briefly wonders how Octarian was printed in an Inkling society, but pushes the thought aside to read.

His eyes widen.

Two weeks pass, and he’s still surprised that he’s working alongside Inklings- despite the fact that almost the entire city is made up of them. But even without knowing the language, he’d managed to get a job. He still isn’t sure if he was technically allowed to take the poster, but it was the only way to show what he wanted. The job called for techies, and even though he was a sniper, he still knows his way around technology. It’s scary at first, but his silence becomes a character trait to the crew, and the stage manager somehow manages to work with him being slow.

They’re setting up for a big show, he thinks, because they’re completely decking out the front of the tower in the square. Building out a stage extending over the entrance, installing huge speakers on either side, rigging up lights… He doesn’t know who it’s for, but he’s very intrigued.

He gets his answer the next night, when it comes to life.

Lights flashing all over, music booming through the square, and the Inkling and Octoling from the window are singing from the stage to a crowd of Inklings that are eating it right up. Mason isn’t actually running anything, as he only helped set up, so he sits back and just watches.

His foot taps to the rhythm of the music.


	2. Intrigue

He’s gotten himself some better clothes now, even participated in a few turf wars. He’s taken an affinity to the slosher, even though it’s the complete opposite of the weapon he was trained to use since he could walk.

Maybe that’s why he likes it so much.

The next concert- which he’s now learned is called a Splatfest- isn’t for another week, so he takes his time to familiarize himself with the lay of the land. Paranoia insists that he _will_ be found and dragged back, so he wants to make sure he knows where he can run, should he need to.

He realizes he’s back in the square, and glances around. His feet soon follow his eyes, and he finds himself in front of the window. The two inside- he now knows their names are Pearl and Marina- are talking away, and he wonders about them.

He wonders what it’s like to be able to put yourself out there as they do, and not worry about any backlash. The only thing he knows attention for is getting in trouble, and he’s still trying to wrap his mind around an Octoling of all people being able to sing like that in front of Inklings.

And nobody does anything to her. In fact, everyone adores her.

…Though, granted, nobody’s tried to do anything to him, either. Are Inklings just really accepting?

He blinks back to reality, pulled back by movement in front of him- the two are waving at him again.

He waves back.

The Splatfest, while a concert, is also a competition. He’s noticed the two different teams from his seat in the square, watching the Inklings wearing two different colors that match Off the Hook. The flashy graphics on the screens only reinforce the theory, as well as the bits and pieces of Inklish that he’s managed to pick up over the course of the past five months.

His gaze wanders up to the two on the stage, singing and dancing, and sees that they’re putting all they have into this. They aren’t holding anything back, and it shows.

How do they do it? How can they bear having this much attention on them? How… how can they go all-out, with no reservations? He looks around at the Inklings around him, singing along and dancing, and he can’t comprehend being able to do that.

He sips on the drink he’d gotten from the food truck, and he ponders on a lot of things.


	3. Familiarity

One job, working for a week every month, is not enough to keep any decent amount of money, Mason has realized. The realization has pushed him to where he is now: striding through the square towards Grizzco. Discovering another form of abuse committed by the Inklings should have been no surprise to him, but he was surprised anyway. He hates working there, but given his new permanent position, he’s determined to do his best to figure out a way to beat Grizz’s system from the inside.

Keep your enemies close, right?

He glances over at the window, and slows. There’s no crowd at the window, not this early, and he ends up trotting over. Sure enough, Off the Hook is in there. They both have coffees and look a bit sleep deprived. He understands, given his own sleepiness from the Splatfest last night.

Pearl glances up and notices him first. She poses, Marina waves, and Mason waves back. As they turn back to each other and he leaves, he thinks that maybe he can wave on his way to Grizzco in the mornings when he goes to set up for the day. They looked tired, so maybe having someone say hello in the mornings could make the mornings a little brighter.

For him, too.

A couple weeks pass, and he finds a rhythm in the mornings- always following the same path through the Square so he can stop by the window and wave. They don’t seem to be tiring of him- and he certainly isn’t of them.

One time, Pearl tries to pose while tipping her chair back, and the chair tips too far, sending her careening to the floor. Mason presses his hands against the glass in a moment of worry- but she bounces up and brushes it off with a laugh that he can hear even through the glass, though faintly and only because the Square is nearly empty. She waves at him while Marina laughs, and Mason returns the wave with a smile that reaches his eyes.

As he continues visiting, it almost starts to seem like they expect him- a couple times they’re already glancing to the window as he walks to it. He enjoys the thought of it, because they smile genuinely every time they see him.

His head bops in beat with the music of the Splatfest, and he’s even able to mumble along with some of the words. For the first time in forever, he feels really and truly relaxed. He’s been on the surface for ten months now, and nothing’s happened yet- and the longer he stays in Inkopolis, the more convinced he is that nothing _will_ happen. For the first time, he’s able to enjoy the Splatfest- or, at least, the concert side of it. He has yet to participate in the competition side of the celebration, and, for now, he’s mostly content with it. But curiosity is a powerful thing, and he knows deep down that it’s only a matter of time until he participates.


	4. Recognition

Today’s a bit different- it’s six days before the next Splatfest, and Mason’s taking a stop before going by the window. In front of him is the kiosk for the Splatfest teams, and he can’t decide which team to pick.

It’s not like a fork is better than a spoon, or vice versa.

He wonders, briefly, if he should wait until the next Splatfest for a better theme, but he pushes it down with the decision that this month _will_ be his first Splatfest to participate in. After all, he’d decided it last Splatfest.

This brings him back to the decision of fork or spoon, and it’s one he debates greatly. But eventually, after he notes the time and that he doesn’t have much of it, he closes his eyes and picks.

He waves as he trots up to the window, holding the shirt behind his back. The two inside wave at him cheerily, and then he shows the shirt.

He didn’t know how satisfying it would be to see the looks of delight on their faces, nor the victorious whoop that Pearl gives before smugly looking over to Marina. She laughs and shakes her head, and the two give him a thumbs-up.

For a moment, he falters, because this is something new, but after that moment, he returns it with a grin before waving again and heading towards Grizzco.

Sometimes habit forces comfort- you find a pattern and grow complacent in it, and life continues as such that you can’t think of any other way it could be. And then a change comes along and throws it all off- or so you think.

This change for Mason comes during the setup for the Splatfest. Pearl and Marina are actually present for this setup, and dictate some of it. What he gleans from how much he’s learned of Inklish and what he overhears is that Marina’s gotten new equipment and, as any owner of new electronics is, is wanting to make sure it’s handled with utmost caution. Pearl is there, he assumes, for moral support. A call snaps him out of his thoughts, and he sees that the manager is calling him over, towards the stars.

It’s just a task as simple as moving a box of equipment- though he doesn’t get very far before he’s stopped, and he’s stopped by Pearl.

He didn’t realize just how small she is until now, standing there holding the cart of equipment while she looks up at him, and seems to be studying him.

Then a lightbulb goes off, and she exclaims in recognition. Moments later, Marina joins them, and Pearl says that she found the window guy. The proud way she says it, declaring with one hand on a hip and the other gesturing to him, threatens to bring a smile to his face. He’s touched- he’d wondered if he’d be remembered by them outside of the morning hours, and this proves it. Marina’s face lights up, and the two ask his name.

He’s not said a word to anyone the past year and some months he’s been up on the surface, and not even the stars asking his name convinces him to start trying. He shows his Grizzco badge instead, and, understandably, it confuses the two. They ask a couple more questions, mostly centered on whether he can talk or will talk, and he responds to them with an appropriate head nod or shake.

An understanding is reached, after what Mason worries is too long a conversation, but nobody pays it any mind- Off the Hook does what Off the Hook wants to do. The two do leave him to his work though, but not before saying that they’ll see him in the morning.

He finally smiles, then nods in return.

And as he keeps working, the smile stays.


	5. Comfort

Mason can’t bring himself to pick a team for Splatfest number twenty. He has no friends, with how dedicated to his work he is, and his only family is horrid. He was able to keep his head down and trudge through the previous year’s holiday festivities- socks and sweaters don’t exactly enforce holiday cheer, after all- but this year?

The theme and focus of the special, longer Holiday Splatfest only forces him to acknowledge how alone he is.

It’s a bit depressing, but he’s committed to his job at Grizzco, and ‘no distractions’ has been too thoroughly hammered into him. When he’s done helping the Salmonids, he tells himself, he’ll worry about making friends because friends require time he doesn’t have.

That’s his downfall, he supposes, is that now that he’s found something to do, he’s walked himself right back into an oppressive commitment. But he uses the fact that it’s to actually help someone else to reassure himself it’s the right thing to do.

Noise calls him, and he sees a group of young Inklings and Octolings chattering excitedly for how early in the morning it is.

He leaves the kiosk without picking a team.

Mason is slow as he helps build the stage, and during the Splatfest itself, he isn’t able to enjoy the music as he usually does.

He’s thankful once the Splatfest is over and they begin to strike the set. After all, nothing would be there to remind him of the upcoming holidays once it was taken down.

To his surprise, Pearl and Marina are there again, though they don’t seem to be doing much dictating this time.

Not until they see him, anyway. Pearl is the one that calls him over, and asks if he could move a box for them. He nods and obliges, and she follows. He’s not given much time to wonder why, because she soon asks if he’s ok.

It catches him off-guard- he wasn’t expecting anybody _to_ ask, and particularly not either of them. He shrugs it off and keeps moving, and she keeps following.

Next she asks what team he joined, noting that he’d already taken off his Splatfest tee. His hearts sink a little, but he shrugs it off again. He keeps moving, and she keeps following.

As he stops by the truck to unload, she asks a third question: if he’s got anybody to spend the holidays with.

He sets the box down.

And he has to support himself on it for a second.

Instead of shrugging, he manages to shake his head.

She then says that she and Marina had noticed he’d seemed down in the mornings, and traced its start to around when the Splatfest had been announced. That they’d discussed it, and decided that if he had nobody to spend holidays with, he could hang with them.

He refuses, immediately shaking his head no. He wants to cry, though whether at his aloneness or at her invitation, he’s not sure. She insists, and Marina, who had been hanging back, comes up and reaffirms the invite.

He shakes his head again, and though a few tears have indeed started to trickle down his cheeks, he’s smiling. He has someone that cares enough about him to invite him to celebrate holidays with them, and he’s grateful. But he knows that Grizzco will still be open, and people will still come to work, and so he refuses. But his hearts are lighter from the conversation, and he bows in thanks.

Even so, the two only leave once they see that he really, truly, is happier.

He looks at them differently after that.


	6. Habit

Mason is a regular in the window, and Pearl and Marina seem genuinely happy when he stops by and waves. He looks forward to the mornings, even though they never actually talk and there’s little fanfare about it. His schedule becomes well-established- he makes sure to stop by and wave on his way to work every day.

Since the twentieth Splatfest, he’s had a warmer disposition towards the stars and even though he has no friends, some small part of him wants to count them as two. They’re more than just stars on a screen or behind a window; they’re people, too- the good kind.

He notes them wave to someone else that happens to be out and about early, but when they wave to him, there’s a familiarity there that wasn’t shown to the other person they’d waved at.

It makes him a little proud, and he waves with a smile.

Personally, he’d rather have picked order, but he couldn’t make himself pick the opposite of Pearl. He hasn’t been able to since the holiday special. He watches the two move about the stage, knowing the songs and dances by hearts, and constantly finds his eyes drawn to Pearl. He doesn’t think much of it, though- just chalks it up to the interesting outfit.

His head bops to the music again, and his foot taps, but he doesn’t get up and dance with the crowd, still unable to understand how they do it. Instead, he sits at a table between matches and simply enjoys the concert.

He catches himself humming along a couple of times, though, and he lets it happen.

Part of him is sad that the Splatfests are ending, but he remembers the travelling concerts will still continue, and that partially cancels it out. The next one isn’t for another couple of months, but it involves both Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters, and he’s looking forward to it. But first, he wants to enjoy this last Splatfest as much as possible.

Or, at least, as much as Grizz lets him.

His eyes drift across the square, at all the smiling faces and dancing feet and flags waving, and grins as Pearl raps.

He does want order, but he also hopes Pearl wins.


	7. Abscence

One day, he doesn’t show up at the window.

And he doesn’t show.

And he doesn’t show.

Pearl and Marina find themselves looking at the window more often as the morning gets later, but he doesn’t appear. Pearl suggests he had something pop up in the morning or he was late for something and didn’t have time to run by like usual.

They keep glancing over periodically as the day passes.

Two days later, he’s still not stopped by. Marina worries something might’ve happened to him, but Pearl says she doesn’t believe it.

Really, she has the same worry, too.

They keep looking out the window.

On day four, they’re theorizing.

Maybe he’s on an out-of-town trip and just never said anything because, well. He never says anything. The two latch onto that, and assure themselves he’s simply on vacation.

They still check the window.

Day six arrives, and their worry has won out over the vacation theory.

He’s still not shown up, and surely he would’ve tried to communicate in some way that he’d be gone for a while if he’d left intentionally, right?

Maybe it’s a family emergency, Marina suggests, and he didn’t have time to convey that.

They hope he’s ok, and agree that if he’s gone another day they’ll look online and see if there’s anything about a disappearance.

They both pull their phones out and look right then anyways.

They don’t find any clues, and come to an uneasy agreement that it was an emergency.

Or that maybe he’d decided he was done stopping by.

Or he’d moved.

Maybe he’d moved.

They search the square through the window.


	8. Home

The next night, as they’re getting ready to close up and head home, there’s a knock on the window.

They turn to look- and Mason waves at them.

He looks like he’s tired enough to drop on the spot, but he’s there and he’s ok. The two’s faces light up and they wave enthusiastically, relief clear on their faces. Marina points to the side of the studio, and motions for him to scoot. He’s a bit confused- that’s new- but he moves anyways to the corner of the studio by the subway as Pearl, followed by Marina, disappears.

His suspicions are confirmed when, a minute or so of fidgeting later, they come around the building and jog over to him.

Neither party is sure about hugs, even though it’s what instinct says to do, so they just stand for a minute.

Marina breaks the silence, asking if he’s ok- they’d been worried when he hadn’t shown up in the window.

Pearl notes he looks like carp hit the fan, and this pulls a breath of a laugh out of Mason, which startles the stars. He hadn’t realized how much he was looking forward to seeing them again, even if only through the window on a quiet morning. How much he was looking forward to hearing them again, listening to stage banter and watching them dance to music booming out of speakers.

How much he’d wanted to be able to talk to them face to face.

He nods, and he speaks.

And it’s the first time they’ve actually heard him say anything.

He haltingly, hesitantly says that he ran into some trouble with his family, but he’s alright now, and the situation’s diffused. He didn’t mean to disappear like that and… and it’s nice to know someone was worried for him.

Of course, Marina says, we look forward to you coming by.

Pearl agrees, saying it’d become a part of the daily routine.

Mason’s grin is a grateful one, and after what he’s just been through, he can’t help but tear up. He thanks them and says that while he needs to go, he looks forward to the next morning. After all, he needs to check back in with Grizz and see if he’ll still have a job after vanishing like that, and Pearl pipes up: if he doesn’t, they can find him something working with their studio. He grins even bigger, and says that he’ll keep that in mind. Marina asks to make sure that they’ll see him tomorrow, and he nods.

As he begins to head off towards Grizzco, he says that he’ll see them in the morning, to which Pearl replies much the same.

We’ll keep a lookout, Marina says, and the three part ways.

As he walks through the near-empty square, Mason wonders at how much his life has changed over the course of the past week- no, the past twenty-four hours.

Feeling light on his feet, he smiles to himself and knows that it’s good to be home.


End file.
